As reported by Casino Guardian on previous occasions, there are three types of operating licences that are currently granted by the Great Britain’s main gambling regulatory body. The UK Gambling Commission is entitled with the powers to issue all three types of licences for all kinds of gambling businesses across the country.
Here are the types of operating licences issued by the UKGC in terms of Bingo operations:
Bingo
Bingo is a game of probability, which allows players to try to predict a range of numbers that are drawn at random by a caller. The winner in the game is the first person who marks off all their numbers.
The game has become quite popular on the territory of the UK, with a large number of bingo halls opened until 2005. Since then, the number of bingo clubs has been reduced due to closures, as the bingo halls have been hit by massive revenues decline over the past decade.
Currently, the UK gaming industry features both brick-and-mortar bingo halls as well as gaming websites that offer a great variety of bingo options online.
Non-Remote Bingo Operating Licence
This type of operating licence provides bingo operators with the opportunity to run bingo games in specialised premises for the purpose. In order to get such a licence, operators need to be aware of the fact that the primary activity of their premises must be related to bingo games. No matter if it comes to a hall, a club or other location open to the public, these premises are required to be operated under a licence issued by the local competent regulatory body.
What is more, the Non-Remote Bingo operating licence allows operators to hold as much as eight B3 or B4 gaming machines, or 20% of the total number of machines they have instead.
Different bingo operators are charged different application and annual fees. The latter depend on the number of bingo premises held by the company.
- Supplementary Remote Operating Licence
In case that a holder of a Non-Remote Bingo Operating Licence wants to offer bingo games on the Internet or other remote communication means to people in their premises, they could apply for a supplementary licence. In this case, the remote bingo options would be additional to the major specified licensed activity of the premises.
The application fee for this type of licence amounts to £100. There is no annual fee applied.
Remote Bingo Operating Licence
Operators are required to hold such a licence in case they offer online or remote gambling facilities to UK customers or any part of their remote gambling equipment is situated on the territory of the UK. This type of licence provides its holders with the right to run bingo games on a website, or by using interactive TV services, mobile technology or radio technology.
Both the application and the annual fee for remote bingo operating licence depend on the gross gambling yield generated by the operator.
- Author
Daniel Williams
